Cardelia Psychology

Marc Cardelia ’85

Pediatric Orthopedic Surgeon

Intellectual breadth

I wanted to be a physician for as long as I can remember. Certainly it would
go back to my earliest serious ruminations about what I wanted to do with my
life. My father was a physician so I was fortunate to have a bird’s-eye view.
He made it possible for me to spend time with other physicians, learning about
various specialties. I arrived at college with firm plans to take the pre-med
course work. It may seem surprising, but I did not choose to attend Princeton
because I thought it would ensure my path to medical school. Of course I was
aware that I would be adequately prepared if I was successful academically.
However, I chose Princeton based on completely separate criteria: the diversity
of offerings and the breadth of college experiences I anticipated. I had been
seriously recruited by several prominent collegiate men’s gymnastic teams, and
I was offered athletic scholarships. My path might have been very different had
I chosen to attend one of these other schools. At that time, the coach of
Princeton’s team was attempting to build a program, and he had the support of
the athletic department in recruiting candidates. I was faced with a choice
very early on. Attend a gymnastic powerhouse program (one of my dreams) while
attempting to maintain a rigorous pre-med curriculum, or choose a different
athletic challenge on a smaller stage. My charge would be to help build the
prominence of the program through individual and team achievements. At the same
time, I saw an opportunity to avail myself of perhaps the finest undergraduate
experience in the country. I’ll admit that I was astonished to be accepted.
Looking back, it is hard to imagine being conflicted about this choice, but I
was. In the end, I came to my senses and chose Princeton, and it was perhaps
the best decision I have ever made.

Student of human behavior

I don’t believe that I ever gave a thought to how my chosen concentration of
study would affect my career choice. I simply knew that I must take the
required prerequisite courses to apply to medical school and beyond that, I
would choose as a major something that I found interesting. I had taken an
abnormal psychology course in high school and was fascinated. I also had
enjoyed biology courses in high school. What I found truly intriguing however,
was the concept of the self and the behavior it supposedly generates. It is the
essence of what we term “being human.” Various academic disciplines such as
religion, philosophy, and psychology attempt to explore and understand this. My
sense was that they were picking at the edges. I was interested in a different
angle. Neuroscience to me seemed to be at the heart of the discussion. What are
the biologic and physiologic explanations for how we behave? Perhaps it was the
budding “clinician” in me looking for objective data. In any event, this is
about as close as I can come to explaining how I came to an A.B. in psychology
from Princeton University. I am not sure that it had any tangible effect on my
career path, nor do I think that that is very important. If I had a chance to
do it over, I might have been an English or history major. College is the time
to expand horizons and seek out different views. If one chooses to go on to
postgraduate work, there will be plenty of time for hyperfocus. By choosing to
major in something that sparks curiosity and enthusiasm, the drive and
dedication that naturally flow from this, will be more than adequate
preparation for whatever lies beyond one’s years at Princeton.

Being a pediatric orthopedic surgeon poses many professional challenges. The
technical and clinical aspects of the field are the most obvious, and for some
in my profession, the most rewarding. The problems facing my young patients and
their families can be very stressful, and I am frequently confronted with the
full spectrum of expected and unexpected resulting behaviors. I have colleagues
who have told me that this is precisely why they did not go into pediatrics! I
suppose that because I have a history of being a student of human behavior, I
find this one of the more interesting aspects of what I do. It certainly keeps
it exciting and entertaining. Does this mean that I always get it right and
have universally outstanding rapport with my patients and unfailingly sterling
bedside manner? Perhaps not. But then again, I’m human too.

“By choosing to
major in something that sparks curiosity and enthusiasm, the drive and
dedication that naturally flow from this, will be more than adequate
preparation for whatever lies beyond one’s years at Princeton.”